IN 

LITCHFIELD 

HILLS. 



AN ILLUSTRATED 
WORK OF 
LITCHFIELD COUNTY, 



In Wliich the Picturfstjuc Features 
ot Each l\)wn in the County 
are Set Forth. 



I'UBI.ISHED AND EDITED HV 

GEORGE ALSON MARVIN. 



HARTFORD, CONN. 
R. S. PECK & CO., PRINTERS, 



o 






VlQZ 

.Uivi3 



CONTENTS. 



' In LitchHeld Hills lo 

^ Litchfield, 12 

Winchester. ............ 19 

Torrington, ............ 30 

North Canaan, ........... 33 

Norfolk, ............. 39 

Salisbury, ............ 55 

- Thomaston, ............ 64 

New Milfor.l, 66 

Sharon, ............. 69 

New Hartfiird, 77 

Watertown, ............ Si 

- Woodbury, ............ 90 

Roxbury, ............. 94 

Harwinton, ............ 97 

Plymouth, . 99 

Colebrook, ............ 103 

Barkhampsted. .......... .108 

Bethlehem, no 

Cornwall, . . . . . . . . . . . in 

Kent, 115 

\j Goshen, 118 

Canaan, 121 

Warren, 125 

Morris, 127 

Bridgcwater, 131 

/ Washington, .... 132 



Preface. 



In the following pages the author has endeavored to write 
a clear and brief description of the picturesque in each town in 
the county. 

"In I.itchfield Hills" is not to be considered a historical 
work, although many interesting points of histor\' are touched 
upon. 

As nothing of this character on our county has been 
placed before the public it is the object of the author to place 
upon the market a pretty souvenir of " Our Mountain County " 
at a price within the reach of every one. 

The writer has personall)^ visited every town and collected 
the necessary material besides selecting the subjects for 
illustration. 

Although the work has involved a large amount of labor 
and there have been many difficulties to overcome the task has 
been most fascinating. 

Much is due to those who have taken an interest in the 
preparation of this volume, and have aided by valuable sugges- 
tions. Many contributions have been made by certain of 
Litchfield's brightest literar\- minds which have added much to 
the value of the work. 

G. A. M. 



IN LITCHFIKLD HILLS. 

Before taking up in detail each town in Litchfield county 
perhaps it would be of interest to take a cursory glance at the 
" Mountain County of Connecticut." This northwestern 
corner of our commonwealth is one of the most picturesque 
and delightful spots in all New England. 

Over a thousand square miles of pleasing diversity of 
scenery interspersed with lakes, mountains and valley sprinkled 
with quaint hamlets and busy villages, while many places have 
been beautified by the hand of man, make this section one of 
the favorite portions of Nature's great pla}' ground for the tired 
denizens of our large cities. 

The geologist could spend years here studying the forma- 
tion and history of these rugged hills and beautiful valleys. In 
Salisbury are the inexhaustible ore beds which have been 
worked for over a century, while the lover of Nature will find 
rugged mountains and lakes scattered in prodigal profusion 
throughout the town. Further east are the beautiful meadows 
and limestone formations of Canaan. Then comes a ridge of 
Archaean rock beginning at Norfolk and stretching diagonally 
across the county with the oldest and hardest portion between 
Norfolk and W'insted. 

Besides the geologist, hundreds view the wonderful 
"Tipping Rock" in North Goshen, which was borne to its 
present resting place thousands of years ago during the glacial 
period. 



lo LITCHFIELD HILLS. 

In the southern part of the county are also many geolog- 
ical features. Here are some of the finest granite quarries in 
the country, peculiar iron formations, and garnet mines. 

The artist who desires to sketch or paint from Nature will 
find in Litchfield a perfect mine. During any season of the 
year picturesque bits of scencr}'. all \aricd and beautiful, may 
be found in every town in the county, but the artist especially 
loves to paint among the beautiful Norfolk or rugged Cornwall 
hills. 

The Litchfield hills were recently described as a region of 
lakes, mountains, torrents, glens, lovers' lanes, rocks, and 
echoes, and all arc bathed in romance and legends. 

Down in the picturesque old towns in Southern Litchfield 
the Red Man warred and wooed, from the hill tops burned the 
signal fire calling the tribes to deadly foray; and finally after 
the last war-whoop had been sounded, and the noble Red Man 
lay stretched upon mother earth, he was laid to rest beside 
some beautiful water fall, or in some fertile meadow beside a 
peaceful brook and the story has come down to us clothed in 
mystery and romance. 

Litchfield county is rich ni historic interest and every inch 
is hallowed ground. 

In the township of Litchfield the famous Wolcott and 
Marvin families melted the leaden equestrian statue of George 
III, which had been brought from Bowling Green. New York, 
into bullets, which were used to repel the hired invaders of the 
tyrant king. 

Time and space forbid us naming or giving a record of 
the distinguished men who were born or lived in this count)% 
United States senators, congressmen, governors, chief 
justices, clergymen, poets and authors, all swell the list of those 
who have not only been leaders of thought and action in the 
formative period of our country's history — but many arc now 
illustrious leaders in this busy age of progress and competition. 



litciii^'ii:li). 

l-'or }'cars the writer has known Litchfield by report as 
a place rich in historic interest, as a town of broad streets 
lined with fine old trees, and as a resting place for hundreds of 
tired dwellers of our large commercial centers. 

l^ut the writer had formed no adequate idea of this beauti- 
ful old town until he was obliged to go there when he was en- 
gaged upon the work of preparing " L\ LliCIIFIELl) HiLLS." 



•■# 




WELL ON HENRY WARD BEECHER PLACE. 

Litchfield does not lie in a valley but sits upon a hill or plateau 
1,114 feet above the sea. 

From under the noble elms of this town one looks out 
over the siuTounding country upon most diversified scenery; 
down the picturesque Shepaug Valley or northward to Ivy 
mountain tower which seems to guard the peaceful Goshen 
Hills or he may catch glimpses of shimmering lake or look 
over cultivated fields and miles of beautiful forest. Trul)' 
" Dame Nature" has been very kind to Litchfield. 



LITCHFIELD. 



13 



One of the chief ornaments of this town are the broad 
streets, level and lined with magnificent elms, which extend 
throughont the town. In fact many of these trees have a 
history. Two large elms in front of J. L. Jndd's residence 
on West Street were planted by South Carolina's distinguished 
statesman, John C. Calhoun, when pursuing his studies under 
Judge Reeve in 1805. 

One of the finest elms in the village stands on the corner 
of North and West Streets and in years gone by served as a 
whipping post. 

It is said that a large willow which stands near Mrs. W. 
C. Noyes' grew from a riding stick, which her grandfather, 





BIRTHPLACE OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. 



Col. Benjamin Talmadge, who was a member of Washington's 
staff during the Revolution, stuck in the ground. 

In this town it seems as if the past and present linked 
hands, for there is no town of its size which has so many 
houses built previous to 1800 and are still occupied by 
descendants of the original owners. 

Notable among these is the old Wolcott house where 
lived Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
The old Beecher homestead where lived the Reverend Lyman 



14 



LITCHFIELD. 



Beechcr, D. D. and wlicrc llcnry Ward and Harriet Beecher 
Stowe passed their childhood, is a point of interest to visitors. 
In this, our shire town, stands the stone court house upon 
the site of an old fort, which was built to protect the small 
settlement of whites from their foe, the Red Man. 

Litchfield is noted for its lakes, and no one should leave 
town without viewing Bantam Lake, the largest body of water 
in the state, covering over 1,200 acres. 

The r es i den ts of 
Litchfield take great 
pride in the appearance 
of their village and the 
result is acres of well- 
kept lawns and over five 
miles of concrete side- 
walk , f o r t h o u g h 
Litchfield is a borough, 
its population is but a 
little over 8,000. 

The beauty of the 
scenery and the envi- 
ronments of the town 
FIRE DEPARTMENT liuiLDiNo. havc aided in bringing 

hundreds of summer guests to Litchfield. The result has been 
the building of many beautiful summer residences. Notable 
among these is Captain Van Winkle's new house. We quote 
the following from the "Connecticut Quarterly": 

" Go to Prospect Hill, a little northwest of the village, and 
look for many miles to the east, south and west. Almost 
below you is the lovely village of Litchfield — a jewel, clean and 
white, in the setting of leafy green. Beyond, and higher is 
Chestnut Hill — a picture of highly cultivated farms in a frame 
of blue sky and sunshine; then Morris hills to the south, 
beyond the placid lake sparkling in the sunbeams; while to the 
southwest Big Mount Tom lifts his high head as unconcernedly 
as when two hundred years ago the lurid flames upon his bare 
pate called the Indians to their chieftain's side for deadly foray. 
Then to the west, is Bare Hill, the pinnacle overlooking 




i6 



LITCHFIELD. 



Waramaug Lake, the blue lines of Quaker Hill; then Mount 
Prospect, with its stores of mineral wealth, then the misty out- 
lines of the Catskills, Mohawk Mountain with its disabled 
tower. Such is the vista that those who are fortunate enough 
to live in Capt. Van Winkle's house can see each day, — an 
almost boundless view of Nature, everywhere improxed by 
art." 

The influx- of summer guests has led some of the enter- 




I'KOF. HOPIN'S RESIDK 



prising citizens of Litchfield to erect the Casino. In connec- 
tion with the Casino are six tennis courts and golf links. 

Through the generosity of one of Litchfield's citizens, 
a Fire Department Building (perhaps one of the finest in the 
United States has been erected.) 



1 8 



LITCHFIELD. 



The building which is built of stone and brick contains 
besides Fire Department Home, bowHng alleys, billiard and 
pool tables, reading room, and all accessories. 

Litchfield has several fine church buildings. The town is 
peculiarly favored with hotels. The Hawk Hurst, a fashionable 
summer hotel about four minutes walk from the station, is 
situated on the brow of a hill and directly opposite the Casino. 
Broad piazzas surround this home-like hotel from which one 
may obtain a view of hill, valley and lake. 

The United States Hotel was built on' the site of the original 
building which was erected by John Phelps, the ancestor of the 
Hon. \\. J. Phelps, ex-minister to Great Britain. 

The graceful elms, the beautiful scenery, fine buildings and 
historic old homes shrouded in romance and legends, together 
with the hospitality of the many fine old families have made 
the name of Litchfield known far and near. 



WINCHESTER. 



If there is any one that doubts that Winchester lacks the 
picturesque features which are so characteristic of Litchfield 
County, let him but mount a wheel at Colebrook Station and go 

pedalling down the 
fine road which leads 
to the Borough of 
Winsted. 

Much of the dis- 
tance is lined by trees 
while in some places, 
as the rider g 1 i dcs 
along the road he may 
look down the precip- 
itous sides of a dee]-) 
gorge, through whicli 
flows the turbulent 
Mad Ri\cr which at 
last is made to turn 
many water-wheels in 
the busy Horough of 
Winsted. 

In order to get a 
fair idea of Winsted 
one should climb one 
of the many eminen- 
ces which surround 
the crescent shaped 
MEMORIAL TOWER. town. Perhaps one 

of the most accessible points is the Memorial Monument which 
stands but a short distance from Main street. This monument, 
which was erected a few years since by the citizens of Winches- 
ter, is built of granite and from foundation to top measures 




WINCH EST liR 



21 




GILBERT HOME, WEST WINSTED. 

seventy feet. As one ascends the stairs he wih notice that llie 
interior is covered with marble tablets on which are graven the 
names of those who fought for the prcser\'ation of the Union. 




GILBERT SCHOOL, EAST WINSTED. 

Many fortunes have been made in this town by enterprising 
business men in the days gone by, but probably none have 
been put to better use than that which was accumulated by the 
late William L, Gilbert. 



WINCH RSTER. 












On a picturesque site a short distance from the Memorial 
Monument is located the endowed Gilbert Home for the 
orphans of Litchfield county. 




)\ I.OKIN Co.iKI 



WINCHESTER 



25 




SIESTA LODGE, HIGHLAND LAKE. 



In East Winsted we find a handsome structure known as 
the Gilbert School. This school, like the home, is endowed. 
Its object is to prepare for the leading American colleges, and 
is free to those residing in the town of Winchester. Directly 
opposite the Gilbert School lies Winsted's fine old park with 
many shade trees and an ornamental fountain. 

Churches of nearly all denominations are found in the 
town, while the Y. M. C. A. is one of the strongest organiza- 
tions of its kind in the county. Winsted too, is fortunate in 
possessing the Beardsley Library. 

The visitor who would spend a day in this town is sure of 
finding first-class hotel accommodations, for the hotels are 
ranked among the best in the Naugatuck Valley. Winsted has 
many fine streets lined with handsome residences, the most 
expensive and picturesque being the Potter Mansion. 

Just at present Winsted is very much before the public eye 
for it is the home of Governor Cooke. The Governor has 



WINCHESTER. 



27 



recently coin[)lcted the builcliiic,^ of a pretty residence on 
Monroe street. 

With eill her advantages, the Borough of Winsted is most 
easy of access. The Philadelphia, Reading and New England 
Railroad runs directly through the town, while the Naugatuck 
division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 
has its terminal in the heart of the borough. 

Less than half a mile from Main street and at an elevation 
of two hundred feet above the town lies the beautiful Highland 
Lake. This expanse of water which extends three miles, has 
an area of nearly five hundred acres, and is encircled by 
forests and sloping meadows, while in some places rugged 
bluffs reach down almost to the water's edge. Through the 
generosity of the late Harvey Wakefield, a fine drive known as 
the Wakefield Boulevard extends around the lake, a distance of 
seven miles. Already several have built cottages on the shores 
of the lake and spend their summers there. On moonlight 
summer evenings the pink-a-punk of the banjo or some jolly 
boating song is wafted across the silvery waters as some gay 
party comes rowing across the lake. 

But this Highland Lake is not the only sheet of water within 
the township of Winchester, for two hundred feet higher and 
within less than a mile, snugly ensconced in the rugged mountains 
lies Crystal Lake, whose outlet is a stream which tiows into 
Highland Lake. Several miles north of Winsted an elaborate 
system of artificial canals and lakes have been constructed into 
which a portion of the waters of Mad River have been turned, 
whence it is led through the Gilbert tunnel, bored for more than 
a half a mile through the solid rock of a mountain where it at 
last rushes into Crystal Lake, so that despite the most pro- 
longed drouth, Winsted has stored up an abundant motive 
power for her many factories. 

Only a mile west of Winsted's famous boulevard lies Piatt 
Mountain, the highest cultivated land in the state. A tower 
fifty feet in height has recently been erected on the mountain 
and from its top one may obtain a sweeping view over four 
counties. Let us leave the reader at this point viewing the 
diversified scenery of Northwestern Connecticut. 



TORRINGTON. 

Torrington, the busiest borough in the county, is pictur- 
esquely situated south of Winsted surrounded by high hills. 




MIGEON AVENUE. 

The village is beautifully laid out, the streets being broad 
and straight. 

Migeon Avenue is probably the handsomest street, for it 
is lined with graceful elms which form a perfect arch in man}- 
places. Litchfield street is another of Torrington's pretty 
thoroughfares. 

Hundreds of pretty residences are situated within the 
limits of the borough, while handsome churches of various 
denominations are located in the central part of the town. 

Every resident takes pride in the handsome Y. M. C. A. 
building which is located on Main street. This building, which 
is built of brick, contains a reading room, parlor, recitation 
rooms, office of the secretary, and a g>'mnasium thoroughly 
fitted with modern appliances. 



TORRINGTON . 



31 




birthplacf: of john hrown. 

A very fine view of the village may be obtained from 
Torringford street To the north lie the blue Goshen hills 




GLEX NEAR |OHN BROWN PI-ACE. 



while in the foreground nestled in the wooded hills lies the 
busy little village, its tall chimneys breathing forth dark smoke 
wreaths. 



32 



TORRINGTON. 



Here are located the Coe Brass Works, one of the largest 
concerns of its kind in the country, while various other mills 
which furnish employment for hundreds of operatives are 
situated in different parts of the town. It is on this street that 
Charles Battell Loomis, the humorist, makes his home. 

Torrington has also played an honorable part in her 
country's history. It was in this town the first anti-slavery 
convention of Litchfield county was held. And here was the 
birth-place of John Brown. The house in which this hero was 
born is located about three miles from Torrington on the 




LITCHFIELD STREET. 

Goshen road, and is still standing, at present being occupied 
by a family belonging to the race for whom this brave old man 
laid down his life. 

Near the old John Brown house is a very pretty glen 
which would furnish a fit subject for an artist. In fact, one can 
hardly go anywhere in this pretty township without finding the 
picturesque. 



NORTH CANAAN. 



Canaan has in many respects a unique situation. Lying 
in the beautiful Housatonic Valley at the junction of the Berk- 
shire division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
road and the New England division of the Philadelphia & 
Reading Railroad it is one of the most accessible towns in 
Litchfield county. 

Although its elevation is such as to insure pure air and 
sweeping views, many portions of the town are comparatively 









level so that there is room to lay out broad avenues should it 
ever become desirable. 

Although the scenery is not as rugged and pronounced as 
that of some sister towns, one may feast his eyes upon the blue 
Taconic range or follow the wanderings of the " bonny Brom- 



NORTH CANAAN. 



35 



foxit," better known as the Blackberry River, as it comes bub- 
bling and foaming down from the Norfolk hills to wind in and 
out among the peaceful meadows of Canaan, or he may walk 
along the banks of the broad and romantic Housatonic River. 
Many times has the writer stood on the rear platform of a 
west bound train on the Philadelphia, Reading & New England 
Railroad on a beautiful autumnal afternoon and watched the 
wild and romantic scenery as the train rushed on its way 
through deep rock cuts or along the side of some high eleva- 




BROMFOM i 

tion of land. The view indeed is magnificent as one looks 
down upon the picturesque valley of the Blackberry River, or 
views the rugged mountains clothed with hardy growths of 
wood, the foliage of which is bright scarlet or shimmering 
gold. 

As the visitor walks down Main street he is at once struck 
by the number of pretty residences surrounded by well kept 
lawns, (the property of Canaan's prosperous citizens), which 
line both sides of the street. Canaan too has many fine homes 
more than a century old, every one of which is shrouded in 
romance, and each has its own legend. 



NORTH CANAAN. 37 

Canaan's big elm a short distance north of the village is 
the Mecca of many visitors. 

Among the public buildings of this town is a cosy little 
library which contains the Douglas Library, consisting of three 
thousand volumes. 

Canaan also has four churches. 

For many years this town has had a fine water plant, the 
water being obtained from a series of inexhaustible springs a 
little more than a mile from the village. 

Connecticut's beautiful State House at Hartford is admired 
by all who visit that historic old city, and it is a notable fact 
that the marble for this stately structure was obtained from 
the quarry at East Canaan. 

For over half a century a fine quality of lime has been 
shipped from this town to various parts of the state. 

Down on the picturesque lower road are located the two 
blast furnaces of the Barnum, Richardson Company, always 
busy reducing ore, the daily output being nearly forty tons. 

Although there are no large factories in the town the fine 
water power of the Blackberry river is most excellent and 
would seem a most pleasing inducement to the manufacturer 
who would avoid the expense of fuel and engines. 

Truly Canaan has a future. 




NORFOLK 



No township witliin the borders of Litchfield County has a 
greater reputation for the picturesque and beautiful than the 
grand old town of Norfolk. 

This beautiful village ensconsed among the blue Litchfield 
hills is the highest point of land reached by rail in the state, 
and is known as a popular summer resort from New ^^ork 




aON POST NEAR PARK 



Harbor to the Golden Gate, and from Canada to the Gulf of 
Mexico, while its elevation of over 1,300 feet above tide water 
insures pure air and cool mountain breezes. 



NORFOLK. 



41 



In this pretty little town the seeker after health or 
pleasure may find acres of velvet lawns which compare 
favorably with the trim lawns of Newport, or he may climb 
rugged mountain paths if he be a pedestrian, and obtain 
sweeping views of Litchfield and Berkshire Hills, or if he be an 
ardent follower of Izack Walton he may paddle his canoe over 
the placid waters of Lakes Wangum, Doolittle or Toby, and 




if he be patient he may carry away some very fine strings of 
bass and pickerel. 

Although Nature has been very lavish the town owes much of 
its adornment to the Eldridge and Battell families. 

On the summit of Haystack, which has an elevation of 
1620 feet above the level of the sea, and is situated about a 
mile in a northwesterly direction from the village is a belvedere, 
which was erected several years ago by the direction of the 
late Hon. Robbins Battell. 

The Norfolk Library, built in 1888, is considered one of 
the finest in the state, and contains a reading room which is 
supplied with over forty of the leading dailies and periodicals, 
a conversational room, and a library proper which contains 



42 



NORFOLK. 




ROOM, LIBRAR\ 




NORFOLK. 



43 



over 9,000 volumes. The building also contains apartments 
for the librarian. 

This building, which was designed by Keller, was erected 
by Miss Isabelle Eldridge in memory of her father and mother, 
Joseph and Sarah Eldridge. 

The residents of the town and visitors also have free use of 
the Eldridge Gymnasium, which is considered one of the most 
complete institutions of its kind in the state, and is fully 




ELT>R11m;F, (IVMNASIUM. 

equipped with modern and approved apparatus and appliances, 
the whole being under the constant supervision of a competent 
director. He who desires an extensive view with little exertion 
will find no better spot than the large overhanging veranda of 
this building. 

From this luxuriously furnished piazza one may obtain a 
view of the beautiful Canaan Valley with Mt. Everett in the 
background. Another attraction of this popular resort is the 
tennis courts connected with the gymnasium. 

The visitor should not neglect to spend a brief time 
loitering about Norfolk's historic old park, or admiring the 




I 



butti:rmii,k kai,i,s. 



NORI'OLK. 



45 



beautiful fountain, designed by Sanford White, the bronze, St. 
Gaudens, which stands at the lower point of the triangular 
park. This fountain was erected in the fall of 1.889 by Miss 
Mary Eldridge in memory of the late Joseph Battell. The 
Welch memorial fountain, another of Norfolk's gifts, was 




VERANDA GVMNA>IL.\I. 



erected in 1895 by the Welch family in memory of the late Dr. 
William Welch, and is placed at the junction of Main and Mill 
streets. 

Ever since Norfolk's first pastor, Rev. Ammi Robbins, 
entered upon his pastorate in the fall of 1761, Norfolk has been 
known as an educational center. 

Some ten or twelve years ago a model public school 
building was erected. In 1884 Miss Anna Battell in connec- 
tion with her brother, Hon. Robbins Battell (lineal descendants 
of Rev. Ammi Robbins) established the Robbins School, the 
first permanent preparatory school of northwestern Connecticut. 

Recently a fine athletic field, the gift of Mrs. Carl Stoeckel, 
has been added to the school campus. West of the park 




CAMPBELL FALLS. 



NORFOLK. 47 

stands a typical New England church with a Wren steeple. 
Another gift is the chime of bells which have been placed in 
the old church tower and whose sweet cadence ma)' be heard 
every quarter hour. 

Beside the Congregational church, and facing the park is 
a chapel built by Mrs. Urania Humphrey in memory of her 
father and mother. This building, which was designed by 
Cady, is of granite and contains a lecture room and parlor. 

The town also has a pretty Roman Catholic church, a 
quaint old Methodist church and a new Episcopal church, 
which is supported largely by the summer residents. 




VIKW ON LAKK DOOLlTTLr:. 

a 



The Hillhurst, a large airy hostelry accommodating ovei 
hundred guests, is situated a half a mile in an easterly 
direction from the village green. From the spacious ver- 
andas of this summer hotel beautiful and extensive views may 
be obtained. 

Fairlawn, a pretty cottage on Maple Avenue accommodates 
about twenty of Norfolk's summer guests. 



NORFOLK. 




FOUNI\l\, LlllRClI AND CHAPEL. 




Konr.INs SCHdo] 



NORFOLK. 



49 



The Stevens House, a commodious hotel surrounded by 
a beautiful lawn and shade trees, is open throughout the year. 

Although Norfolk is not noted for its manufacturing, a 
few enterprising firms have located on the banks of the Black- 
berry River, a picturesque little stream which drains nearly 
twenty miles of hilly country. In one place this stream has a 
fall of 125 feet in less than a mile. 

One of the man}- fine bits of scenery about Norfolk is 
formed by this river as it plunges in a series of connected 




STEVENS HOUSE, 



tumbles over the rocks west of the mill dam, forming the 
Butter Milk Falls. 

Norfolk no longer depends upon the "old oaken bucket" 
for her water supply. Some two years ago work was com- 
menced on Norfolk's new water plant. The supply is obtained 
from Lake Wangum, a beautiful sheet of water located 
about four miles from the village on the top of a high moun- 
tain, and encircled by forests. Its height of nearly 250 feet 
above the village green, the fact that there are but two or 
three buildings located on the entire water shed, and that 
the lake is supplied by never-failing springs ensures perfect 
freedom from contamination. 



NORFOLK. 



5i 



It has been said that Norfolk's drives would require a 
volume, but in a work of this kind space will permit of but 
mentioning a few. 

Campbell's Falls, located about four miles from Norfolk 
is one of the many pretty drives. Our brief description we 
quote from an article published in the " Norfolk Chimes." 

"The best scenery can be had on this trip by taking the 
road over Ball Mountain and returning by way of Canaan 
valle}'. Leaving the wagon on the roadside one descends by a 




A NORFOLK RESIDENCE. 

Steep path thickly strewn with pine-needles into a grass-grown 
and wooded ravine, and there for the first time one catches a 
glimpse of the Falls. From a height on the opposite side of 
the ravine the sparkling water dashes over the mossy rocks, 
sometimes falling into little rocky nooks where it forms a 
secluded lake until the next heavy rain forces it out and on its 
way. Bounding over the rocks it at length flows into a 
bubbling brook which winds in and out among the trees till it 
is lost to sight. By following this brook now walking along 
the bank, now skipping from stone to stone, one sees many 
beautiful ferns, mosses, and flowers, which add greatly to the 



NORFOLK. 



53 



beauty of the place. Along the sides of the falls are large 
rocks and boulders by the aid of which, with careful climbing, 
one may reach the top where the water makes its first bold 
dash over the rocks, k'rom this spot the view of the ravine is 
very charming, although most of the falls arc hidden from 
sight." 

Far View, about two miles west of the village, is a popular 
drive, while he who prefers a steep climb to a drive, may in- 
vade Lovers' Lane. A much frequented drive is to Moses Hill, 
situated two and a half miles south of the village on the Litch- 
field Road, l^'roni this eminence, which is owned bv Dr. Fred- 




STONE HOUSE, SUMMER RESlr)E^'CE OF LIEU. GOV. DEWEI.L, \V. NuKl Ol.K. 



erick S. Dennis of New York, one may look over the rolling 
hills across the state of Massachusetts and see the Green 
Mountains of Vermont; in fact, nodiing obstructs the view in 
any direction for miles and miles around. A drive of two miles 
below Moses Hill takes us to South Norfolk by the silent old 
water wheel and its picturesque surroundings. 



54 NORFOLK. 

Another of the attractive features of Norfolk are the hand- 
some summer residences, which are enclosed in well-kept 
grounds. The finest of these is the recently completed resi- 
dence, built of dove colored marble, of Mr. H. H. Bridgman of 
New York. 

Tamarack Lodge, the property of Dr. Frederick S. Dennis, 
is also considered one of Norfolk's most beautiful summer 
homes. Another residence that attracts much attention is 
owned by Professor Frank Goodnow of Columbia College. 
The " Stone House " owned by Fieutenant-Governor Dewell of 
New Haven, is also an object of much interest. 

Besides these summer homes there are many fine old 
homesteads, some over a century old, in the town. Space 
forbids us to mention the many historical associations connected 
with the town. 

He who would enjoy an ideal summer, the autumnal 
beauties or pleasures of a New England town, will find no 
pleasanter place in all New England in which to cast his lot, 
than Norfolk. 



SALISBURY. 



Salisbury, the largest township in the county, presents 
almost every variety of scenery. Rugged mountains lift their 
hoary heads toward the clouds, while at their base shimmering 
sheets of blue water splash upon a sandy beach ; tiny rivulets 
come bubbling down from the hillsides to add their mite to the 
broad bosom of Connecticut's most picturcs(]ue river, the 




r^^^^U'/ 



- MONUMENT ON BEAR MOUNTAIN. 
Erected by Hon. Robbins Battell, of Norfolk. 

Housatonic ; fertile meadows stretch over much of the country 
till they meet stately forests and over all is thrown a glamour of 
history and romance. 

Many years ago, before the advent of the white man the 
Indian loved to make this land his home — his light canoe cut 
the clear waters of the Wononscopomuc, while by its shores 



SALrSBURY. 



57 



the council fire gleamed on the visage of the brave warrior, or 
glared on the face of the tender and helpless. 

From Ore Hill in the western part of the town iron ore 
has been mined for a century and a half, and it was here that a 
large amount of iron was obtained in tlic old Revolutionary 
times for cannon and ball. 




RESIDENCK of MIIO RICHARDSON, I.IMK ROCK. 

Lakeville, situated on the sloping shores of the Wonon- 
scopomuc is very much before the educational world at 
present, for it is here that Mrs. Maria Hotchkiss built the 
Hotchkiss School at a cost of $200,000 and has endowed the 
school with $200,000 more. Many summer homes ha\-e also 
been built and with their well-kept grounds, add much to the 
beauty of the village. 

Salisbury about a mile a half east of Lakeville, is a 
typical New England town with a broad street lined with 
shade trees running its entire length. 

The town is most fortunate in possessing the beautiful 
Scoville Library, one of the finest buildings of its kind in the 



SALISBURY. 



59 



state. In the library proper over the fireplace is laid a stone 
taken from Salisbury Cathedral, England, while from the 
granite tower of the building a four dial clock tells the time of 
day. 

Chapinville, a small hamlet east of Salisbury, has many 
pretty residences and is well worth a visit. 

Probably no prettier or more picturesque hamlet exists 
in all the county than the little village of Lime Rock, situated 
in the western part of the town and about three miles from 




EPISCOPAL CHURCH, IJME ROCK.. 

Lake\ille. The village lies snugly ensconsed in a narrow- 
valley which is encircled by ragged peaks of the Taconic 
range. From the precipitous sides of the mountain glittering 
patches of limestone crop forth, while in contrast are the 
granite rocks and hemlock trees which clothe a portion of 
these rock-ribbed hills. In the west part of this little hamlet 
the noble Housatonic comes rolling down between the hills as 
it sweeps on toward the sea. 

From Butler's bridge which spans the Housatonic, a 
broad graveled road, lined with graceful elms, extends straight 
as an arrow for nearly a mile. 

The village owes much of its trim appearance to the 
Barnum and Richardson families, who conduct the extensive 



SALfSBURV. r,i 

iron business of the l^arnuni ^H: Richardson Conipan)', for 
Salisbury has the reputation of producing the best iron for car 
wheels in the country. 

Back from the road surrounded by velvety stretches of 
lawn and graceful shrubbery and trees, stand several fine 
residences from which pretty views may be obtained. 

The inhabitants of the town justly feel proud of the pretty 
stone church which stands at the west end of the street. 



RESIDENCE OF CHARLES BARNUM, LIME ROCK. 

The township of Salisbury possesses another attraction. 
Washining and Washinee, " the twin lakes of the woods." 
These lakes are most accessible, since the P., R. & N. E. 
Railroad runs along their shores for a long distance. A 
few months ago the writer stood upon the shores of these 
beautiful lakes and watched an August sunset. Not a ripple 
stirred the broad expanse of blue water. In the distance two 
or three boats were moving toward the white tents which 
were half hidden by the foliage of the pine trees. Across the 



SALfS/U'RV 



63 



lake, without a peer in all Connecticut, * Bear Mountain, stood 
out in bold relief against a dark blue sky which now glowed 
with all the glories of the departing day. 

Slowly the sun, which now looked like a great ball of fire, 
sank behind Mt. Washington, and the whole landscape was 
bathed in a subdued light 

Let us leave the reader here in the most beautiful spot in 
all the town, to watch the fine effect of shade and light, till at 
last da}' gives place to the beauty and quiet of a mid-summer 
night. 



* Bear Mt.,the highest point of land in Connecticut, is 2,250 feet above tide water, and is 
crowned with a stone monument surmounted by a bronze ball. This monument was erected by the 
late Robbins Batteil of Norfolk. 




THOMASTON. 

Thomaston formerly belonged to the township of Pl}-- 
mouth and is the youngest town in the county. 

The town is broken up b\^ hills and is extremely pictur- 
esque, for there are deep gorges and wild glens and turbulent 
mountain brooks." The town lies in the Naugatuck Valley 
through which the river of the same name flows. In this town 




HOSE HOl'SE. 

is the Waterbury Reservoir from which the city of VVaterbury 
obtains its water supply. 

Although Thomaston is a manufacturing town it is well 
laid out, the streets being broad and well lined by fine shade 
trees. 

This town has been made famous by the clock industry, 
for it is here that the Seth Thomas clocks are made, the yearly 
output being valued at over a million of dollars. 

The largest and handsomest building in the village is the 



Thomaston. 



65 







Q^-^^ 



! 



'-IIM 



brick opera house. Near this building is a pretty brick struc- 
ture known as the Thomaston Hose House. 

Picturesque drives radiate from the town leading the tour- 
ist through a wealth of scener}' and beauty. 



-^r,r'iT-^ 



„_4 



■0 



HAM NKAR KM IE >HOR 



NEW MILFORD. 



This township at one time included the town of Bridgwater 
and was the largest township in the county. 

Although New Milford has lost in area it is one of the 
most beautiful towns in the state. Dr. Field, who has girdled 
the globe a number of times says that the Housatonic Valley is 
one of the most picturesque valleys he has ever visited, and the 



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inlilwiiiuHi 


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..!^S 





INGIESIDE SCHOOl.. 

township includes one of the most beautiful portions of this 
beautiful valley, for the scenery in this section is characterized 
by wildness and grandeur. 

It is thought that at one time, thousands of years ago, 
much of the land in this section was covered by a broad lake, 
but some mighty convulsion must have occurred and the 
natural dam (a range of hills to the south) were torn in twain 
and the broad expanse of water rushed out of the gorge now 
known as " Lovers' Leap ". Although there is great scenic 
beauty about this " Lovers ' Leap " much interest is added to 



NEW MfLI'ORD. 



67 



the place by the tradition that an Indian maid, the daughter of 
a great chief who looked with disfavor on her white suitor, 
plunged with her lover from the high hlulY into the river and 
met a fearful death. 

The village is beautifully located on sloping hills at an 
elevation of 750 feet and has a perfect drainage. 

From the hill near the Rectory a commanding view of hill, 
valley and dale, may be obtained in all directions, while in the 




STREET VIEW. 

foreground lies the broad, double street lined with graceful 
elms. Lovely drives radiate in every direction. 

On Aspetuk Hill stands a spacious summer hotel known 
as the VVeautinaug Inn. This building was formerly the 
mansion of John P. Treadwell, the first proprietor of the 
famous St. Nicholas, New York. 

* The Ingleside School for young ladies is beautifully located 
in this \'illage, and adds much to the general refinement of the 
neighborhood. 

Through the generosity of Mr. Egbert Marsh the town is 
enabled to have a fine library. The library, which is English 
Gothic in style, is built of buff brick with Long Meadow 
trimmings. Granite steps supported by red stone walls lead to 

*The Ingleside S.:liool hus lately been located in the Weaiitiiiiaii.i; Inn. 



6g 



NEW MILFORD. 



a large vestibule with mosaic tile floor. The JDuilding through- 
out is finished in oak and ash and contains besides the library 
proper a room designed for the G. A. R. Post. 

The building, which has recently been completed, is 
situated in the central part of the town. 




LOVliR'S LEAP. 

Handsome churches of various denominations are located 
in different parts of the village. 

In fact, New Milford seems to possess all of the necessary 
requisites for an ideal home. 



SHARON. 



Although not one of the oldest towns in Connecticut, 
Sharon possesses far more of the delicate charm of later 
Colonial days than many of the more ancient townships are 
able to boast. The reason for this is that its early settlers 
were not pioneers in the sense of those who leave behind them 
all the luxuries of life to brave the hardships and terrors of a 
wilderness. They were, on the contrary, well-to-do citizens, 




who, having discovered an easily accessible territory as yet 
unappropriated, more beautiful and more fertile than the 
homes their fathers had chosen, came to occupy tlie new land 
because it was good, bringing with them their worldly gear, 
and many of them bringing also that other possession of 
greater value than mere money can ever be — minds cultivated 
far beyond the average of persons of their day. Thus their 
houses were not merely temporary structures which reciuired 
at a later date to be torn down and replaced, but houses which 



SHARON. 



7' 



are good, substantial and fine-looking to-day. Perhaps more 
tlian any other one thing, it is the presence of so many of 
these genuinely Colonial mansions which gives to Sharon the 
distinctive charm which is conceded by all who know it. 

The location of the township is exceedingly beautiful, 
lying as it does on about the midway terrace of the long hills 
which, like gigantic garden terraces, slope southward from the 




LIBRARY. 

Berkshires to form the western highlands separating the 
romantic Housatonic from the peaceful valley of the winding 
VVebotuck. Here, high enough to command a view of hill and 
dale, lake and stream, yet sheltered from the worst violence of 
the easterly winds by the higher hills which lie behind it, the 
early settlers found an unrivalled situation. Here they could 
lay out their broad Main street, a mile and a half long with 
only sufficient curve to prevent monotony. Some of the finest 
of the old mansions were built on highways leading to this 
street. Some on highways which are not now in use. Such 
was the once fine old structure the names of whose builders 



V 



72 



SHARON. 





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strep:t view, i,ooking norih. 

and early owners have not been kept in local remembrance, 
but which is known as the " Montgomery House " because 
that general had his head-quarters there for a short time when 
on his way to join the " Army of the North " in its expedition 
against Quebec. Few houses of its day surpassed this in 
location or construction, and in these days of rev^erence for 




I 



SMITH HOUSE, 



SHARON. 



71 



whatever is historic, or was beautiful before it was old, we can 
hardly endure to remember that it has been suffered to fall to 
ruin. A very similar house once stood in Sharon Valley, but 
of this not even a trace now remains. The Gay homestead, 




CLOCK JOWh-k. 

s a handsome old house still in good 



also oft the Main street 

preservation, and happily is owned and occupied by the 

descendants of him who built it. Among the other old and 



74 



SHARON. 



fine houses still in good preservation, is the Sedgwick home- 
stead overlooking a beautiful part of the elm embowered 
Main street. At the street's southern end, where it is divided 
into three diverging ways, is another fine old house now 
occupied as a summer residence by Mrs. Dunlap-Hopkins of 
New York. At the street's northern end, commanding a view 
down the park-like Green, is the quaint and charming house 
built by Mr. Geo. King, and now occupied by one of his 
family connection. Among the oldest dwellings in the town 
and certainly one of the' most beautiful, is the man}' gabled 




TIFFANY HOUSE. 

house now owned and occupied by the Rev. C. C. Tiffany 
and wife. It has been greatly enlarged and improved of late 
years, but fortunately not modernized. The same is true of a 
charming Mount Vernon-like house owned by Miss Phoebe 
Perkins. Other old houses that attract admiration and atten- 
tion from their age, or their fine appearance, or the beauty of 
their grounds, or all combined, are those of Mr. Charles 
Sewall, of Miss Lydia Smith, of Mr. Frederick Carter, of Mr. 
George Goodwin, of Mrs. Chase, of Miss Wheeler, of Mr. W. O. 
Wheeler, and of Mrs. McClurg. In the grounds of the latter 
stands one of the very finest elm trees in all New England. 



SffARON. 



75 



Several of these fine residences were built in " the days when 
George the Third was King," and at least one of them in the 
reign of George the Second. 

A liouse of some historic interest is that known as the 
Gov. Smith homestead, i^uilt before the Revolutionary war 
by Dr. Simeon Smith, a physician of note in his day as well as 
an officer in the patriot army. It is one of the finest examples 
in New England of the architecture of the later Colonial period. 
It was in the meadow in front of this house that the Hessian 




RF.SIDENCE OK C. ADOI.PHF. I.OW. 

prisoners and their guard wereencampedon theirway down from 
Saratoga after Burguoyne's surrender, and in this house that 
the British and American officers were quartered. From Dr. 
Smith the house descended to his nephew, John Cotton Smith. 
Governor of Connecticut during the last war with Great 
Britain, and the last Governor under the charter of Charles the 
Second. To Gov. Smith's descendants the house now belongs. 
Besides its fine views and drives of endless beauty and 
variety, Sharon has many attractions, the chief of which is 
undoubtedly its park-like street, beautifully shaded by double 
rows of arching elms, with a broad central Green, commanded 
at one end by a tasteful monument to the Sharon citizens who 
lost their lives in the civil war, and at the other by a very 



76 



SHARON. 




COOL c;AI£S, KtSIIiENCE OF ARTHUR DUANE. 

handsome clock tower, the i;ift of the Misses Wheeler to the 
town. Three well built churches front upon the street, and at 
its highest point is a very pretty public library building, the 
gift of Mrs. B. B. Hotchkiss. 

Among the newer residences of Sharon is the massive 
stone house of Mr. Albert C. Perkins, and the handsome 
modern houses of Mr. C. A. Low and Mr. Arthur Duane. 




COOT, GATES, IN 



NEW IIAR'n'ORl). 



New Hartford has charms whicli should hold the lo\-cr of 
Nature a long time. A thrivino- \-illage encircled l)\- loft)- hills 
and mountains, and en\ironed by scenery which is unsurpassed 
in all New England for beauty and picturesqueness. 

I'^ar abo\e the town the east and west branches of the 
Farmington unite forming the river so familiar to ever}- one in 
this locality. 

This river which broadens out in quiet expanses of blue 
lake in some places, in others goes dashing and eddxMng over its 




RESIDENCE OK CLARA LOUISE KELLOGC^.. 

rocky bed till it comes to a wild wierd spot, about a mile below 
Pine Meadow, known as Satan's Kingdom. Here the Farm- 
ington winds like a silver thread through a deep wild gorge 
whose rocky and precipitous sides reach upward for several 
hundred feet till they seem to meet the blue sky. For thou- 
sands of years the river has been wearing the deep and narrow 
o-oro-e through which it flows. Cut into each side of this 





- .^i 



8o NEW HARTFORD. 

ravine, high above the river, is the soHd bed of a raih'oad over 
which trains dash, the puffing of the engine echoing and re- 
echoing on the rocky walls of the cliffs. Far up on the crest 
of one of the sides of this gorge one may obtain such a view as 
he will never forget. Here Clara Louise Kellogg, America's 
Prima Donna has carrolled some of her sweetest melodies, 
and here Rose Terry Cook^Jias found an inspiration for some 
of her sweetest verse. While an author more than twent}' 
years ago, wove a description of this wild romantic pass through 
the mountain in a story which was published in " Harper's 
Monthly." 

The fact that Clara Louise Kellogg has made this town 
her home is enough of itself to bring this section before the 
public eye. 

On the east side of the Farmington the Greenwoods Com- 
pany established their plant in 1812, for the manufacture of 
duck, and their product has become famous the world over. 
The writer was fortunate enough to be shown over a large 
portion of this extensive plant. Passing through a long low 
fire-proof stone building he saw hundreds of thousands of 
yards of duck worth thousands of dollars. The product of 
these mills is shipped to all parts of the world. It was the 
Greenwoods Company which furnished the duck for the sails 
for the Defender when she defeated the Valkyrie in the autumn 

1895. 

New Hartford also has many interesting drives and points 
which attract the visitor in various parts of the town. 



WATERTOWN. 



There are few towns in the little Nutmeg state as beauti- 
fully located as Watertown, in the western part of Connecticut, 
and southern part of Litchfield county, and persons who have 
visited or driven through its valleys and over its hills are ever 
ready to speak of the picturesque town, with its handsome resi- 
dences, its productive farms, and the general thrift of its people. 
Hundreds of years ago, when the whole face of nature was one 
vast solitude, uncheered by the rays of civilization, when the 
wild Indian roamed over its solitary hills and valleys, when its 
forests were in their primitive state, and no sign of cultivation 
of any kind existed, the imagination can form a vived picture 
of its grand, romantic, and picturesque appearance. But, if 
the Indian has ceased to roam over its hills and valleys, if the 
statel}^ and once gigantic forests have disappeared, it is none 
the less grand none the less romantic, but more picturesque 
than it has ever been. 

Civilization with its rapid strides, inventions, and impro\'e- 
ments has wiped out the old and once familiar landmarks of 
the old settlers. Now the shrill whistle of the locomotive and 
the hum of driving industries have broken the solitude of two 
hundred )'ears ago, and where formerly swamps, forests, and 
wilderness existed, there are driving farms, happy homes and 
everything that makes life attractive and worth living. 

Every thing has changed for the better. The first perma- 
nent settlements of the present town of Watertown were made 
about I 72 1, by Jonathan Scott, Sr. and Ebenezer Richardson, 
the latter one of the descendants of the pioneers of Waterbury. 
Watertown is bounded as follows: on the north by Morris and 
Thomaston, on the east by Thomaston and Waterville, on the 
south by Waterbury and Middlebury, and on the west by 
Woodbury and Bethlehem. Within a few years, the main part 
of the town was on a rising hill, but since the railroad has 



^ ■ irk 








WATERTOWN. 



«^3 



come in use (1870). the town has built up greatly, and its 
principal places of business are at present under the hill, in the 
vicinity of the railroad station. From all parts of the compass, 
but more especially from the south, north, and east the pictur- 
esque town with its handsome and modern residences and pub- 
lic buildings, shows to the best advantage. From Nova Scotia 
hill can be seen Waterbury, Middlebvny, and on a clear day the 
distant Catskill Mountains, N. Y. Watertown was incorporated 
and became a town by itself June 17, 1 780. Prior to that its 





STEELS LROOK. 



name was VVestbury, and belonged to the present town of 
Waterbury. 

In 1865 the Warren house was erected, and was for nian\' 
years one of the largest and most prominent summer resorts 
in New England. Here in Watertown was made the first sew- 
ing machine, and here the famous and world-wide known 
Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company was organized 
and carried on a prosperous business for many years. But as 
the business kept on increasing, and the faculties for shipping 
were inadequate, the company moved to Bridgeport. In 1866 



?»ii*?, 




WATERTOWN. 85 

the VVatertown Agricultural & Horse Association came into life, 
and its fairs with its fine thoroughbred cattle became known all 
over the countr}'. Watertown has two large silk mills where 
sewing silk is manufactured besides hardware factories. One 
of the first attractions that meets the traveler's eyes com- 
ing from the south is St. John's Roman Catholic church, with 
its handsome rectory close by, and the beautifully laid out 
grounds. Opposite the church stands the Pythian hall which 
was erected in 1892, and is owned by members of the order. 
As we advance a little further north, we behold the handsome 
and magnificent residence, the finest in the town, of Merritt 
Heminway. Opposite this is the old brick store which was 
erected in 1824. On the rising hill to our right stands the 
sightly residence of Buell Heminwa}', which commands a fine 
view east and south. A little north from here is the Methodist 
church built 1850. Opposite the church and Mr. Buell Hem- 
inway's residence is the green, one of Watertown's beauty spots. 
Here, westerly stands the Congregational church, built 1840. 
A little south of this is the Watertown free public library build- 
ing, built of hewed granite, a gift by the Do Forest famil}-. 
This is the finest structure in our town, and contains nearly 
8000 volumes. Opposite this is Watertown's new town hall, 
with its handsome tower, which was used for the first time Ma\- 
30, 1895, Memorial day. A little west from here is the most 
charming residential spot on the hill with its fine green in the 
center. Here is Christ Episcopal church with its rectory, and 
spacious parish house. Opposite from Christ church is the 
hospitable residence of John A. Buckingham in the midst of 
large and well kept grounds. On the corner stands the castle- 
like structure, erected by George Woodruff, and now owned by 
Mrs. Virginia Wood, of N. Y. On the road leading to Litch- 
field, north of Mr. Buckingham's residence, is the old fashioned, 
but baronial residence of the W. E. Curtis famil}% with its large 
and statel}^ trees, handsome flower gardens, and well kept 
grounds. A little further west we come again to a green with 
many large and handsome trees. This is the once famous 
Warren house, now Mr. Taft's school. 



WATERTOWN. 87 

Mr. Taft's School was established in 1895, at Pelham 
Manor, New York, by Mr. Horace D. Taft, a graduate of Yale 
College in the class of 1883, and for some years a tutor of 
Latin in that institution. The school began with a staff of 
three teachers and with ten boarding scholars and seven day 
scholars. 

In 1893 Mr. Taft moved the school to Watertown, where 
the conditions have proved very favorable, and the school has 
flourished exceedingly. There is now a staff of six teachers, 
while the boarding scholars number forty-three and the day 
scholars sixteen. 

The object of the school, as set forth in the school cata- 
logue for 1896 is, "to give boys a thorough preparation for the 
best colleges and scientific schools, and to make them strong, 
healthy, and manly men." The school prepares for all colleges 
and scientific schools, but most of the boys go to Yale. The 
course of study covers five years, and no boy is admitted who 
is less than twelve years of age. 

Mr. Taft was fortunate in securing for his school the War- 
ren House which, for nearly thirty years was the most famous 
hotel in this part of the state and which has proved to be a 
most admirable building for the purposes of the school. The 
adaptation of the building for these purposes required several 
changes. A gymnasium and locker room completed the 
school equipment. The school has the use of an admirable 
athletic ground in the Watertown fair grounds. The quiet 
New England village of Watertown with its healthful climate, 
its freedom from all temptation, and its opportunities for open 
air exercise is an ideal place for such a school. 

West from here on a rising hill, overlooking the town, is 
the old fair ground, from which a fine view can be obtained. 
One of the most picturesque features in our town, is Lake Win- 
nimaug, in the south-western part of our town, which covers 
nearly 2,000 acres, and is considered by all fishermen, as the 
finest fishing place in Litchfield county. Adjoining the lake, 
is the well known and productive farm of Charles B. Mattoon, 
who carries on the largest dairy in the county, keeping no less 



WATERTOWN. 89 

than one hundred cows. In the north-western part, are the so- 
called " Nonnewaug Falls," which are known to all. In the 
north-eastern part of our town, on the road to Thomaston is, 
" Black Rock," where a beautiful view of the Naugatuck valley 
can be obtained. There is an entrance into a cave of this rock 
which, however, has been little explored. The scenery from 
the top of "Black rock" is one of the most romantic and 
picturesque that can be found anywhere. 

Watertown is known for its good roads with its fine and 
shady drives, which are used extensively by people of Water- 
bury and surrounding towns. 




WOODBURY. 



The grand old town of Woodbury is not only picturesque 
but historic. The land is composed of beautiful rolling hills 
and fertile valleys. 

Over two hundred years before the settlement of Wood- 
bury, the Indian loved to make this section his home and here 
engaged in deadly strife, and the whole land teems with legends 




PARKER ACADEMY. 

of the brave " sons of the forest." Among those who drew 
up and signed the first articles by which the settlers of 
Woodbury agreed to be governed were ancestors of General 
Sherman, General Grant and Chauncey M. DePew. 

Over half of the company which took Fort Ticonderoga 
were inhabitants of this town. 



WOODBURY. 



91 



Woodbury has also taken a leading part in American 
church history, for in 1783 an event occurred which was not 
only of importance to the state, but also to North America, for 
it was at the house of the Rev. Mr. Marshall that a meeting of 
Episcopal clergymen appointed a clergyman to be ordained as 
the first Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of 
America. 

Woodbury is not only historic, but it is a beautiful town, 
for besides the handsome residences the streets are made 
beautiful with noble elms. 




HOUSE IN' WHICH BISHOr itABURY WAs ELECTED. 

The Parker Academy, a preparatory school for boys and 
girls, has already taken a high stand for doing thorough 
work. 

One of the most beautiful portions of the town and one 
which has many Indian legends is Orenaug Park. 

Just back from Main street, and extending parallel with it, 
rises a ledge of rocks 140 feet high, crowned by stately old 
pines. This range forms the western front of the beautiful 



92 



WOODBURY. 



tract of land given to the town in 1889 by Mrs. H, VV. Shove, 
that all might enjoy the privileges of a public park, with the 
one condition that birds and all animals should remain 
unmolested. The Park derived its name Orenaug, from the 
Indians who formally possessed it. 

Topographically, the twenty acres are most variable, com- 
prising many delightful ravines whose sloping hillsides are 
carpeted with ferns and mosses often tenanted by squirrels 
and partridges. The southern boundary i*^ of stone work 400 
feet in length. The entrance on Park Avenue is between 



'■4 

1 


1 ^li^^^^ /^^^^^^^^H 






M^h^ ..:■ - '%p^-;4,.— _J[___j - ^.^:-. --- ■•■ 



ENTRANCE TO ORENAUG PARK. 

monuments, ten feet in height, composed of a great variety of 
beautifully colored stones, furnishing opportunity for much 
study in mineralogy. Much work has been done in the Park 
to bring out the beauty of its natural endowments, which has 
attracted visitors widely, like pilgrims to a shrine. A fund has 
been established, giving opportunity to all interested through 
former residence or association in this grand old town, to con- 
tribute, that still more may be done to increase its power of 
bringing people nearer to Nature. Singing, and Bethel rocks 



WOODBURY 



93 



are special places of interest, being associated with many 
Indian legends, thus adding the charm of romance to tlicir 
surroundings. Drives are so constructed and openings made 
through the trees, tliat one may enjoy the quiet of the dense 
woods, or feast upon the extended views revealed to one from 
the edge of the cliff, of the charming valley of the Pomperaug 
and the " Ancient Town of Woodbury." 




ROXBURY. 

At one time Roxbury belonged to her sister town, Wood- 
bury. The town possesses much of the picturesque, which, 
coupled with its historical associations make it one of the most 
interesting towns in the lower part of the county. 

A little more than two hundred years ago the Indian 
roamed at will over the forest crowned hills of Roxbury, or 
met in council down by the banks of the picturesque Shepaug, 
and to this day are found Indian relics near Pulpit Rock, which 
is situated a short distance north of Roxbury Station. 




Roxbury is famous as the birthplace of Gen. Ethan Allen. 
Another of her famous sons was Col. Warner, who figured so 
prominently in the War of the Revolution, and at Roxbury 
Center stands a monument erected in his memory. 

Although no battle ever took place in the limits of the 
township the remains of a camp, occupied by Gen. Nixon 
during one winter in the Revolution, are still pointed out_ 



KOXBURY 



95 



It is said tliat Gen. Washington visited the town at one time, 
and the story is no doubt true, as the Father of his Country is 
known to have visited Woodbury more than once. 

This town is made up of high and rugged hills from 
which one may obtain extensive views, but no finer sweep of 
country may be seen than that which is viewed by one who 
stands on Good's Hill, which is situated about three miles 




MONUMENT IN MEMORY OF COL. SETH WARNEK. 

east of Roxbury Center. Without doubt the most interesting 
portion of the town is located along the banks of the Shepaug. 
Shepaug is a Mohegan name meaning Rock River. Here 
"Dame Nature" has been most lavish with her gifts, for the 
scenery is such as might ravish the soul of a poet. Strange 
and varied are the rock formations in this section while the 
beauty is enhanced by the silvery river. 

West of the river is a locality known as Mine Hill, where are 
found spathic deposits of iron, chalybeate springs and fine 
granite quarries, which are owned by the Mower Company. 



96 



ROXBURY. 



Following the banks of the winding river for nearly two miles 
in a southerly direction we come to the famous Shepaug Falls, 
which have attracted so many tourists. Here we will leave the 
reader to watch the eddying waters as they flow over the dark 
shelf of rock and fall in a boiling mass of foam in the caldron 
like receptacle below. 




MINK HILL gUARRY AND CUTTING YARD. 



HARWINTON. 



Harvvinton, which is situated southeast of Torriugton, is 
one of the oldest towns in the county. 

Many years before the advent of the white man, the Indian 
roamed at will over what is now a fine farming district. 

The town is composed of rolling hills from which man\' 
beautiful views may be obtained. 

The town has many historical associations. (3ne story is 
told how Washington and his troops at one time passed 
through this place and dined at the old Abijah Catlin place. 
This house, which stands a short distance from Harwinton 
center, is in a very good state of preservation. 

One of the points of interest is the Huntington Chapel, 
a neat granite structure, the gift of C. P. Huntington. 




.\BIJAH CArLl.N PI.ACK. 



98 



HARWINTON. 



The pure air and fine views have drawn many people 
from the large cities to spend their summers in this old town, 
while a "wild agitation over a proposed trolley" may land 
hundreds of city dwellers among the everlasting hills of this 
lovely country village. 




HUNTINiiTON CHAPEL. 



PLYMOUTH. 



The town of Plymouth, which lies in the southeastern 
portion of Litchfield county, was known by the name of 
Northbur}' up to 17S0. Prior to that time it belonged to 
VVaterbury, but in 1780 was set off with Watertown, and 
remained so until May 1795, when it was incorporated under 
the name of Plymouth. The town also embraced what is now 





i 



«?lei -i 



OLD rRAlNlNG GROT'ND. 

Thomaston up till 1875, when the latter place was set off from 
the town of Plymouth. 

The entire town possesses much of the picturesque, and 
beautiful high hills extend throughout the town, while spark- 
ling streams flow through deep gorges and dash over primeval 
dams, forming numerous waterfalls. Beautiful drives, consist- 
ing in some places of macadam road, built under the super- 
vision of the state, extend in various directions. In some 
places these roads, broad and smooth, run through growths of 
woodland, or along the side of some deep wild gorge through 



lOO 



PL YMOUTH. 



which rushes a mountain''stream 'in its hurried course to join 
some larger stream. 

The town is very accessible, as it is within easy reach of 
two railroads. 

Plymouth early became a manufacturing town, and to 
enumerate the many enterprises that have had their birth in 




CIKCLLAR DAM. 

this town would fill a volume. Some of the greatest inventors 
of the age have resided in Plymouth, among them being 
Terry, Thomas, Hoadley and Jerome, whose clocks have gone 
the world over. 

The lock business was first successfully started in 
Plymouth and has continued to be the life of the town, and no 



PL Y MOUTH. 



lOI 



traveler has ever yet gone out of the sound of the celebrated 
clocks named above, or the click of a Terryville lock. 

In 1847 Andrew Terry started the Malleable Iron I'oun- 
dry, which to-day is an extensive plant situated near the dc[)ot. 

Not only has Plymouth been foremost in the past in 
manufacturing and inventions, but in times of war has furnished 
her full quota. The oldest survivor of the Revolution and last 




GORGE, DEVII S HACKI'.dNK. 

pensioner of that war was Lemuel Cook, who died in 1866, 
aged 102 years. 

The Plymouth Green is also a place of much interest, as 
it was used for a training ground. At present it is much 
beautified by graceful elms and also contains a soldiers' 
monument. 

This town was the home of Dorance Atwater, who, while 
a prisoner in the late war, secured and brought away the only 
correct list of the Andersonville dead, a list of nearly thirteen 
thousand. Reader, stop for a moment and think what such a 
list meant to the friends of the dead and also its worth to the 
government. It was by this list that Miss Clara Barton and 



I02 PLYMOUTH. 

Mr. Atwater were enabled to direct the making of the graves 
of those thirteen thousand. 

Mr. Atwater was anxious to pubhsh his hst, but the 
government wanted first to make a copy; later Mr. Atwater 
was refused the list, but he retained it when the work was 
finished at Andersonville Cemetery and placed it where the 
government could not find it, claiming it as his personal 
property secured at the risk of his life and while a prisoner of 
war. Mr. Atwater was imprisoned for this act, this time in a 
northern prison. 

Through the efforts of Miss Barton before a joint session 
of the Connecticut Legislature, Mr. Atwater's release was 
obtained. He was afterward a United States consul and in 
that capacity served his country faithfully for twenty years. 

The famous dead list was exhibited for the first time at 
Plymouth Centennial, May 15, 1896, at which occasion Miss 
Clara Barton was present. 

Plymouth has been the home of prominent clergymen, 
skillful physicians and noted members of the bar. 

It is not known that George Washington ever slept in any 
house in Plymouth, but there are now a number of well 
preserved old houses where he could have secured a night's 
lodging had he come this way, and left his " Hatchet " at 
home. Boys in his day did not value young trees, for tradi- 
tion has it that one of the clergymen of the town set out some 
elm trees on South street in Plymouth Center, but they were 
pulled up by the boys, whereupon the old parson announced 
that if the boys would return the trees as they found them he 
would give them a gallon of rum. The trees were soon found 
and put in place, and now a stately row of elms stand as a 
monument to the good old parson who lived in days when cus- 
toms differed from those of to-day. 



COLEHROOK. 



Colebrook lies just west of Norfolk, among beautiful 
wooded hills, its white church spire rising from the encircling 
elms and looking down the street of a typical New luigland 
country village. 

Here are no mills, or railways, or steam whistles, and here 
a child may wander far and find no possible danger. 

Two stores, one containing the post-ofifice, comprise all 
business done, except farming. The farms are well kept and 
one sees no evidence of the decadence so often apparent in the 
hill towns of Connecticut. 

Well kept roads diverge from the village and mount the 
hills, from which lovely views may be obtained in every direc- 
tion, or wind down the village beside some picturesque trout 
stream. 

Colebrook is remarkable for the beauty of its roadside 
verdure. 

" Boon Nature scatters free and wild 
Each plant and flower, the Mountain's Child." 

Ferns grow in endless variety and luxuriance, clematis and 
wild grape vines festoon the shrubbery, and all kinds of wild 
flowers are found each in its season including many varieties 
rare or unknown in most localities, making the town a delight 
to the botanist as well as to the lover of beauty. 

A favorite drive of ten miles and return follows Sandy 
Brook, deep among the wooded hills, to Riverton, and there 
follows the Farmington on one bank as far as Pleasant Valley 
returning on the other side of the river. 

When near Robertsville, a small hamlet in the southern 
part of the township, one should not fail to visit the celebrated 
Falls of the Tunxis. 




■L'NXIS FALLS. 



io6 COLEBROOK. 

Here "Dame Nature" has scattered her charms in prod- 
igal profusion, the result being that this spot has been the 
Mecca of thousands of tourists and jolly picnicers. Here the 
sparkling waters of the Tunxis plunge down a rocky defile till 
it is lost in a deep pool at the foot of the dark rock. 

" O Tunxis ! would I had a poet's powers 
To wreath thy beauties for eternity." 

This was the Tunxis of a few years ago, but the onward 
march of this modern age has now invaded this beautiful spot. 
Dynamite has reduced the picturesque rocks into a thousand 
broken fragments, and in their place stands a power house, 
while the rushing flood has been harnessed and furnishes elec- 
tric lights for the busy town of VVinsted four miles distant. 

Another pleasant drive is to Highland Lake in Winsted 
five miles south. To the north lie the hills of Sandisfield from 
which extensive views include the Taconics, the Catskills, and 
mountains of Berkshire. In every direction is some interesting 
objective point for a driving excursion. 

Several years ago Colebrook was discovered as a place of 
summer sojourn for those in search of genuine seclusion and 
rural beauty and is growing in popularity year by year. 

Although Colebrook was the last settled town in the 
county, yet many of her sons have been prominent in affairs of 
the nation and the little town located in the hills has no need 
to feel ashamed of her past record. 




TUNXIS FALLS. 



BARKHAMSTED. 

Barkhamsted possesses much of the picturesque, for it is 
composed of rugged and varied areas through which flow- 
mountain streams that have been used as motive power for 
many manufacturing firms. 




CONGREGATIONAI, CHURCH. 

The town is divided into three sections, Barkhamsted 
Center, Pleasant Valley, and Riverton. 

In the first of these districts is located the Town Hall, 
a pretty church, and a small cluster of houses. 

Between the two last named districts are wild and roman- 
tic gorges and many pretty bits of scenery. 



BARKHAMSTEI). 



109 



The principal part of the business in town is transacted at 
Riverton, a small village located about four miles from 
VVinsted. 

This little town has been famous for years for the large 
number of fine rules which hav^c been manufactured here. 

The streets are broad and well shaded by fine old trees, 
while the west branch of the Farmington, which flows directly 
through the center of the town, adds much to the beauty and 
picturesqueness of the place. 



BETHLEHEM. 



Bethlehem, although a small town is very interesting, as 
it has many historical associations. 

The occupation of its inhabitants is chiefly agriculture, 
for there are many fine farms on these rolling hills. 

Among the early settlers was Hezekiah Hooker, a descend- 
ant of the celebrated Rev. Thomas Hooker of Hartford, and a 
man who did much for the town during its early existence. 

This town, which lies north of Woodbury, was much 
frequented when first settled, by the Indians, who are said to 
have built their wigwams on the banks of the stream just below 
the celebrated Nonnewag Falls. 

These falls are situated in the southeastern part of the 
town in a romantic glen and form a beautiful cascade. 

Bethlehem has at difi'erent times had schools within her 
borders which have drawn many scholars who have become 
famous in after life. 

It was at one of these schools that the famous South 
Carolina Statesman, John C. Calhoun, spent a portion of his 
boyhood. 

With all her delightful qualities, Bethlehem should be 
known to the outside world at no very distant date. 



CORNWALL 



Litchfield County has been termed a veritable Switzerland, 
but for wilderness, picturesqueness and grandeur, Cornwall is 
unsurpassed by any of her sister towns. A series of little vil- 
lages, perhaps we might call them hamlets, lie ensconced 
among the rugged peaks of the Cornwall Range and have all 
the charm and seclusion of some little Alpine town. 

From the high eminences extensive views of Litchfield 
and Berkshire Hills are seen, while to the southward may be 




RESIDENCE OF HON. T. S. GOLD. 

obtained glimpses of Long Island Sound. It is in the southern 
part of the town that the celebrated tower (now in ruins), 
crowns Mohawk. 

The Housatonic River forms the western boundary of the 
township, adding much to the beauty of the place. 

These wild and picturesque Cornwall neighborhoods have 
furnished many a subject for the painters brush. 



CORNWALL. 



i'3 



Cornwall is one of the most highly developed farming dis- 
tricts of the state. It is at Cream Hill that the Hon. T. S. 
Gold, Secretary of the State lioard of Agriculture, has his 
home. 

Near the Cream Hill farm lies a beautiful sheet of water 
which would compare favorably with a New Hampshire moun- 
tain lake. 

The village known as Cornwall J'lains is one of the pretti- 
est in this section, for the land is very level while a short dis- 
tance away, steep mountains rise from the [)lain and add to the 







RESIDENCE OF JOHN E. CALHOUN. 



beauty of the scenery. Among many pretty homes may be 
mentioned the fine old Colonial house owned by I\Ir. John 
Calhoun, known as " Coltsfoot Farm. 

The Housatonic Valley Institute, a model school, is also 
located at this village. 

A short distance south of the village is located one of the 
finest groves of white pine in the state, the property of Mr. 
Calhoun. 



14 



CORNWALL. 



The visitor should not fail to drive from Cornwall Plains 
to Cornwall Bridge for the road is not only a fine carriage drive 
but the quality and grandeur of the scenery is enhanced with 
every mile of progress. 

The historical associations of the town of Cornwall are of 
large interest for transactions to the extent of " affecting the 
weal or woe of the world have hereabouts taken place." It 
was within this township that the American Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions, established the first school for 
the education of young people from foreign lands. 

It is in Cornwall that General Sedgwick, who is known to 
every school boy lived and died. 

The town also has many other interesting features which 
space will not permit us to mention. 




KENT. 

Many years ago this town belonged to Warren, but as it 
stands to-day is bounded on the north by Cornwall, east by 
Warren and Lake Waraniaug, south by New Milford and west 
by the towns of Dover and Amenia in New York state. 

The whole township is broken up by mountains from 800 
to 1,400 feet high, while deep valle}'s lie between. The 
mountain sides in many places are rocky and precipitous; in 
others the rise is more gradual, the sides of the hills being 
covered with fine farms. 

The town is one of the most picturesque in tiie county, 
for besides the mountains there are sc\'cral small lakes, while 
in the southeastern portion of the town lies a part of the 
beautiful Lake Waramaug. The Housatonic River runs 
through the entire length of the town. Every mile of this 
noble river abounds in great scenic beauty, for in places it 
flows through deep and narrow gorges, over huge boulders and 
rock masses and finally widens out into clear expanses. 

The lakes and various mountain streams abound in fish, 
and for this reason alone have become famous. A natural gap 
in the West Mountains gives easy access to South Dover on 
the Harlem Railroad, a distance of 69 miles from New York. 

Four miles south from Kent Station the Ilousatonic 
River breaks through a limestone ridge and tumbles over the 
rocks, falling fifty feet in leaps and whirls, affording a beautiful 
sight, while at high water the view is grand and imposing. 

Four miles north from Kent Village a mountain stream, 
running through a ravine densely shaded b}^ hemlocks, falls a 
distance of nearly 400 feet in a succession of cataracts and 
rapids. Tourists pronounce these frills finer than the 
celebrated Minnehaha Falls. 

Very many pretty drives radiate from the village and 
wind over mountains and down through fertile valleys. From 
some points on the Kent hills on a clear day may be obtained 



ii6 



KENT. 




KENT FALLS. 

fine views of the Catskills, while the white sails of vessels may 
be discerned on Long Island Sound. 

West of the Housatonic are the old tribal grounds of the 
Scate Cook Indians, on which a remnant of the tribe still live. 

Although the village is small and the chief business of 
Kent is farming, the town has " all the dignity of an eminently 
respectable New England village " enhanced by scenic beauty 
which will compare favorably with the White Mountains. 



:« 




GOSHEN. 

The township of Goshen not only possesses much natural 
beauty, but has many interesting features and points of interest. 
The fact that it ranks in elevation among the highest in the 
state insures sweeping views and pure air. 




IVY MOUNTAIN TOWER. 



Three ridges of land run from north to south with valleys 
between and make the landscape one of unusual diversity, 
while the Green Mountains terminate within the borders of the 
township. 



GOSHEN. 119 

The town is divided into sections known as, Goshen Cen- 
ter, West Goslicn, North Goshen and Hall Meadow located in 
the eastern part of the town. The last named section was 
bought by Asaph Hall when the town was first settled. Mr. 
Hall was the grandfather of Prof. Asaph Hall, of Washington, 
D. C, who has recently built himself a home among the 
pleasant hills of his native town. The road known as Ivast 
Street, was once the prominent route in Goshen, it being a 
direct way from Norfolk to Litchfield. The view from this 




LOG CABIN. 



PROF. HALLS RESIDENCE. 
TIPPING ROCK. 



street is wonderful not only showing a variety of scener\', but 
of wide extent. To the west the Catskills are visible while the 
spires of churches in neighboring towns ma\' be seen from the 
east, with Talcott Mountain beyond. 

In 1884, a tower seventy feet high was erected on Ivy 
Mountain by Franklin Wadhams and from no other place in 
this section can so fine a view be obtained. It is said on a 
clear day one may see the waters of Long Island Sound, while 
the sparkling waters of several lakes, which are scattered 
throughout the town, may be seen. 



I20 GOSHEN. 

The town possesses a most wonderful natural curiosity in 
the north part of the town, which is the Mecca of hundreds of 
people who spend their summers in Litchfield and surrounding 
towns, known as Tipping Rock. 

Thousands of years ago when mighty glaciers swept over 
our hills, this rock was borne from some northern locality and 
left in the position it now occupies a wonder to all who view it. 
The ground in the vicinity of this rock is covered with 
many boulders of fantastic shape and size. Geologists tell us 
(from the many scars and scratches on the flat rock on which 
the boulder rests) that the movement of the rock was from 
northeast to southwest. The rock which is of granite formation 
is estimated to weigh ninety tons and is so balanced that a 
child can sway it back and forth, the swing being nearly six 
inches. The boulder measures nine feet nine inches in height, 
thirteen feet three inches in diameter and fort}- feet in circum- 
ference. 

Goshen has obtained a reputation as a fine farming 
country and her products, such as cheese and butter, com- 
mand high prices in the city markets. But^ Goshen has man}- 
requisites for an ideal summer resort, already a few are taking 
advantage ot the cheap price of land while the fact that the 
town will, in the near future, undoubtedly have a trolly line 
which will make it accessible to the outside world, will be a 
means of dotting the hill tops with summer residences from 
which may be obtained pretty views of brook and forest, hill 
and vale, which render the town beautiful to the lover of 
Nature. 




CANAAN. 



The t(_)\vn of Canaan, which inchidcs the villages of Falls 
Village and Muntsville, possesses much to attract the lover of 
beauty. 

The surface of this town is more mountainous and rugged 
than its sister town, North Canaan, and the chief occupation is 
agriculture. But he who admires the beautiful will find a 




pleasing diversity of mountain, valley, and wood, while the 
broad and romantic Housatonic comes rolling down between 
the rock-ribbed hills till near Falls Village it plunges over a 
broad shelf of rock forming the far-famed "Falls," which has 
been a subject for artists and photographers for many a year. 



122 



CANAAN. 



These falls are said to furnish one of the finest water powers 
in the " Nutmeg " state, and its close proximity to the 
Berkshire division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford 
Railroad should make an ideal site for some enterprising 
manufacturer. The visitor to this quiet town should not 
forget to saunter up the quaint old street, lined with wide- 
spreading trees, which forms the main thoroughfare of the 
town. On both sides of the street are old-fashioned dwellings 




NIC l-AI I -. 



and business blocks, but even here modern architecture 
appears in the handsome new " Iron Bank " which was erected 
a few years since. 

Although nearly every town in the county has a good 
secondary school, Canaan is able to hold her own in educa- 
tional matters, for seven years ago in accordance with 
bequests of the late Wealthy A. and Catharine E. Hunt, a 
school and library were founded in memory of their late 
brother, David M. Hunt. The school building, built of brick, 
and consisting of two stories, occupies a pleasant site in well 



CANAAN. 



123 



kept grounds. The upper story of this building contains the 
David M. Hunt Library. The school is under the charge of a 
competent principal and corps of teachers. In various parts 
of the town are many fine views which are quite accessible 
and which pro\e attractive to the visitor 



WARREN. 



It has been said that more ministers have come from 
Warren than an}- other town in the connty. Perhaps it may 
be from the fact that the httle town is set hiijh on a liill above 
all of the snrrounding towns and is removed from the contami- 
nating influences of the outside world. Although the town 
is somewhat isolated from other communities, it has many 
interesting features and a charm and beauty for the lover 
of nature. 

On the farm of Justice Comstock is located one of the 
finest granite quarries in the state, while the farmhouse which 
is a hundred years old, is built of material taken from this 
same quarry. 

A short distance southwest of the village is located a hill, 
known as Above-all, from whose summit sweeping views of 
hill, valley, and lake may be seen ; while on a clear day the 
blue waters of Long Island Sound may be seen in the distance. 

But he who would see the most beautiful portion of 
Warren, should visit Lake VVaramaug. This lake, which is 
situated in the townships of Kent, Washington, and Warren, 
has the greater part of its area in Warren. This beautiful 
sheet of water is one of the largest and most picturesque 
in the state, being surrounded by high bluffs and hills whose 
rocky faces reach to the waters edge. A good carriage drive 
has been built around this lake, a distance of ten miles, and 
in the whole drive there is no bit of sameness, for in many 
places it almost touches the limpid waters, or lies at the 
foot of bold bluffs and crags while the greater portion passes 
through a fine growth of woods. 



126 



WARREN. 



From many of the commanding sites which surround the 
lake handsome summer residences and large hotels have been 
built, for nearly five hundred people summer in this sylvan 
spot. 

From the Warren shore the finest view may be obtained 
from the hill on which the Hopkins place is built. Truly 
within the borders of Warren is located one of the most 
beautiful spots in all Connecticut. 




MORRIS. 



Beautiful for situation is Morris, a little town six miles by 
three, nestling among the hills to the south of Litchfield. 
Lovely beyond the power of words to describe are its sunny 
hills and sheltered valleys, its broad lake shimmering in the 
sunlight, and its peaceful farmhouses looking out from the 
surrounding trees. Seen on a sunny May day when the trees 
have on their bridal array, or when the October sun has 
painted the woods in scarlet and golden its picturesque beauty 
will not suffer by a comparison with the famous Ikrkshire 
hills. 

To quote from an old geography "The surface is diversi- 
fied by hills, mountains and valleys. The soil, is better 
adapted to grazing than tillage, but this very lack of adaptabil- 
ity for agricultural purposes only adds to the picturesque 
beaut}- of its scenery. The hills lie in long undulating ridges 
stretching from north to south, higher and more precipitous in 
the western part of the town, where two are of such height as 
to gain the title of Mt. Tom, and Little Mt. Tom. 

Mt. Tom is a cone shaped wooded knoll at whose base on 
the northwest, lies Mt. Tom pond, a small sheet of water but 
deep and beautifully clear. A tower crowns the mountain's 
summit. 

From this tower one gets an extensive view of the sur- 
rounding country, Litchfield, Bantam and Romford \illages — 
Bantam Lake not far ofil", and on a very clear day a glimpse of 
the Catskills, dim and blue in the distance. 

But the most picturesque views in the town are around 
Bantam Lake. Persons who have travelled far and wide have 
assured me that the view from Whittlesey's hill near the south- 
east shore of Bantam Lake is one of the finest in the countr\-. 

This lake is three miles from north to south and from 
three quarters of a mile to one and three quarters miles 



128 MORRIS. 

wide. There are numerous summer resorts around it from the 
plain cottage which almost deserves the name of "shanty" 
where parties may camp out and " rough it," to their hearts 
content, — up to the stylish villa, the Club House, and the 
Dutch Colonial Hotel where one can have city luxuries and 
prices. 

Not far from the southern point of the lake is Camp 
Columbia, a summer school connected with Columbia College. 
A farm was leased for a term of years, buildings remodeled, 
and arranged for dining-halls, kitchen, offices, etc., tents 
pitched for sleeping accommodations and here about lOO 
students are taught surveying and map-drawing in the most 
practical manner. 

Although Morris is now a quiet little town, only en- 
livened during the summer months by city guests attracted 
hither by the pure air and lovely scenery, — it can boast of a 
fame and renown, " in the days long since gone by," when 
Morris Academy was in the zenith of its glory. This famous 
academy was established in 1790 by General James Morris, 
the greater part of whose life was spent in this place then 
called South Farms. While the academy was under his care 
there was an attendance of nearly 1500 different pupils from 
twelve different states and from the islands of St. Thomas and 
Bermudas. More than sixty of his pupils entered college 
many among them afterward became men of note, among 
whom were Rev. Edward Beecher, Rev. John Pierpont, and 
John Brown of Ossawatomic of whom the poet Whittier sa}'s : 

" John Brown of Ossawatomic they led him out to die, 

And lo ! a poor slave mother with her little child pressed nigh. 

Then the bold blue eyes grew tender and the harsh old face 

grew mild 
As he stooped between the jeering ranks and kissed the negro's 

child. 
The shadows of his stormy life that moment fell apart, 
And they who blamed the bloody hand forgave the loving heart. 
That kiss from all its guilty means, redeemed the good intent. 
And round the grisly fighter's hair, the martyr's aureole bent." 



1 30 MORRIS. 

The old building, a plain bare wooden structure after the 
fashion of a century ago, remained standing in a dilapidated 
condition until about ten years ago. 

Another place of historic interest is the birth-place of 
John Pierpont, poet, preacher and temperance orator. Every 
school-child has read or learned " Warren's address at the 
Battle of Bunker Hill," of which he is the author. His old 
homestead which he describes as 

" A modest mansion in a sunny nook- 
Tall trees behind it and a babbling brook 
Flowing in front " — 
is situated in the southeast part of the town on the direct road 
to Thomaston, — is a wide, low farmhouse, which although 
repaired and modernized to some extent, still retains the same 
quaint shape and appearance which characterized it during the 
boyhood of the poet, almost a hundred years ago. 

There are many houses in town which date back to 
Revolutionary times although their number is diminishing 
yearly. There are many lovely little nooks which are a delight 
to the artist, and which have formed the subject of a photo- 
graph, a sketch or an oil study. 




BRIDGEWATER. 



The township of Bridgewater is a characteristic New Eng- 
land rural district, which at one time belonged to New \Tilft)rtl. 

The land is hilly and agriculture is the leading pursuit. 

The town, like several others in Western Connecticut 
possesses a most beautiful feature, namely the Housatonic 
River which affords much variety to the scener\-. 

Quiet and beautiful is this little town with its roadsides 
lined with wide-spreading trees, while fertile farming districts 
stretch out toward New Milford. 

Churches of several denominations are found in the town 
and the inhabitants are intelligent and well-to-do. 



WASHINGTON. 



The traveler arriving by the winding Shepaug Railroad, is 
quite prepared to appreciate the succession of delightful and 
peaceful views which are opened up during the ascent of nearly 
a mile of good road, leading to the rural village of " Washington 
Green." The town was named Judea, by the first settlers. 
The only palliation for the change, is that the immortal George 
is said to have made tJiis his first namesake. 

It has been said that the church was the Queen Bee of the 
Puritan community, so it is not surprising to find that as early 
as 1742, twenty-six members of Judea society unanimously and 
lovingly agreed upon a place for a meeting-house. This was 
the site it now occupies. 

In 1748 the Reverend Daniel Brinsmade became the 
pastor and continued in the office until 1793. Like most of 
the settled ministers of that day, he acquired a large tract of 
land, and his family took root here to such an extent, that with 
one exception all his descendants are still residents of the town. 
Naturally they have had much to do in shaping the character 
of the town in all directions. 

It was a magnet (now Mrs. Gunn) in the Brinsmade 
family which fastened Mr. Gunn and led to the founding of the 
Gunnery, a boarding school for boys in 1850. Mr. Gunn, 
always loyal to the best interests of his native town, made the 
terms for day pupils such, that all the young men and maidens 
could secure the advantages of a permanent school of high 
order. The home of the Gunnery was so attractive and the 
boys so happy in the town that many have returned to make 
this the summer home of their mature years. 

William Hamilton Gibson owed much of the bending of 
the twig which became the beautiful tree of knowledge of 
nature, animate and inanimate, to Mr. Gunn and his free life in 
Washington. He came here for his summerings many years. 



WASHINGTON. 



133 



Here he made the first exhibition of his wonderful charts in his 
never to be forgotten mornino- talks. His beautiful home, the 
" Sumach's," was hardly completed when suddenly death 
removed him in 1896. Mis life conferred distinction upon the 
town and was a benediction as well. 

E. K. Rossiter the architect, also a (iunnery bo)', has an 
interesting and charming place near the Green. It includes 
the Rocking Boulder called " Sampson's Rock." The house is 
built upon a crag, and the place is fitly called " The Rocks." 
Mr. Rossiter has done more than any other man to open to 




WM. HAMILTON GIBSON HOUSE. 

view the heart of Picturesque Washington. About ten years 
ago he became owner of Steep Rock, a remarkable ledge five 
hundred feet high, overhanging the Shepaug, which runs in the 
form of a horse-shoe at its base. By degrees he has added to 
this four hundred acres of what may be called primeval forest. 
Here Mr Rossiter has built about six miles of driving road 
following the winding of the river, which it crosses several 
times by low bridges, over bluffs and ridges under the Rock, 
and on to its summit. This drive is pronounced by intelligent 
travelers unsurpassed in loveliness in this country or any other. 
To get its ravishing beauty one should take this drive in the 



134 



WASHINGTON. 



time of the Laurel bloom. This shrub is here in great abun- 
dance. Much of it is of primitive growth reaching the height 
of fifteen feet. Scattered on the hillsides among the hemlocks 
or bordering the lower roads, the effect of the dainty pink 
clusters of this mountain flower is fine. The moral beauty of 
this gift to the people exceeds the material. Generations yet 
unborn will bless Mr. Rossiter for this, as well as for the 
hundreds of shade-trees he has planted by the roadsides. 




RESIDENCE OF MR. E. R. ROSSITER. 

A cluster of three beautiful cottages, with extensive 
grounds, occupies the western slope of the hill commanding an 
extended view of the valley and distant hills ; they are owned 
by R. S. Barnes (another Gunnery boy) and the families of 
Mairs and Lecome. " The Knoll " which now includes the 
" Grove " is the delightful and artistic home of E. H. Van 
Trigen of New York, the pioneer of the cottagers here. In 
close proximit)' to this is the Gunnery, which in its forty- 
seventh }ear, sustains its excellent reputation under the care 
of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Brinsmade — its extensive athletic 
grounds include the Gymnasium, and connects with " The 



ivASfirxGroN. 133 

Rid^fc" an attractive Old Colonial home of recent date where 
Mr. W. G. l^rinsmadc has a home school for a limited number 
of boys. 

In this neighborhood for nine months of the year most of 
the real life of the town centres, coasting, skating, foot-ball, 
dancing and other evening amusements keep the active young 
blood from stagnation. 

The walks and drives about Washington are numerous 
and varied in interest. Between breakfast and dinner, one 
can take the fine level road following Bee Brook, with its many 
turns, its rustic bridges to Lake VVaramaug, back over Baldwin 




HE GUXNKKV. 



Hill, and feel that nineteen miles of more beautiful scenery 
would be hard to find. A hilly road of seven miles in another 
direction reaches Bantam Lake, the largest in the state. The 
Walker Brook road, on to Church Hill down through the 
woods, by the brook-side to Judd's Bridge and home b\- the 
cool and shady River-road. Mt. Tom with its pretty lake and 
the tower on the summit, back by "Chittenden's four corners" 
(now Woodville) following the river to Romford are drives 
full of interest and beauty. Painter's Hill should be taken in 
the afternoon to see the sunset behind rhe Catskills, The 



136 



WASHINGTON. 



Hemlocks, Whittlesey Valley, Bell Hill, Nettleton Hollow, and 
enough others to allow a new drive every day for six weeks. 
Then for a morning walk, or evening stroll, what can be more 
beautiful than Sunset Hill (where a vesper service is held 
quite often on Sunday evening in summer) unless it be the 
Old North road to Malbury Brook or the " Overlook road " 
from which can be seen the whole villafje with the distant hills 








ATHLETIC GROUND, GUNNF.RY. 

as a background. Social life in Washington is at all seasons 
comfortable, but not conventional — the habits and manners 
are rural, but not rustic. Two well sustained churches on the 
Green, a free reading-room with library of nearly three thou- 
sand volumes founded in 1854, an I^ntertainment Hall where 
lectures, concerts, dramas etc., are often given through the 
year, furnish opportunity for amusement and improvement. 



IVASHINGTON. 



137 



For those so disposed tennis and golf give abundant 
chance for active exercise. 

Mr. Frank Heath in the summer of '9(5, with generous 
hospitality laid out an exceptionally fine golf course of nine 
holes on his own land. This commands one of the finest views 
in the town and has many national hazards, as stone walls, 
ditches, trees, brooks etc. There is also an excellent sjjring 
of cold water on the place. 




ROAD TO STEEP ROCK. 

Fishing for black bass in the lake and trout^'jn the brook 
affords much sport in the season — success is capricious — the 
same can be said of hunting. 

Mr. Arthur D. Woodruff has a pleasant summer home 
here, " Orchard Terrace " and contributes to the summer 
pleasure by his own music, and that of his musical friends who 
visit him. There is no hotel in Washington but several excel- 
lent boarding-houses, where many deligntful people find pleas- 
ant quarters during the summer months, among these are found 
preachers, doctors, bankers, lawyers, artists, musicians and many 
of lesser note. Flora McFlimsey and Mrs. Grundy never come. 



WASHINGTON. 



•39 



" Valley Station " is the attractive stopping-place of most 
of the cottagers who find a shady drive free from dust, to their 
homes. Within a stones throw is the " Holiday House " built 
by E. H. Van Ingen and given to the " Working Girls' Club " 
of St. Bartholomew's church New York; the house and all its 
appointments are first-class, it accommodates about si.vty and 
is generously and pleasantly conducted. 

" Washington Depot " one mile from the Green is a neat 
and thrifty village containing four churches and about sixty 
houses. Here all the business of the town'is done. Nearly all 




kinds of merchandise is to be found here so satisfactory as to 
supply most of the demands of citizens and summer i)eoplc. 

The farms are well-kept and productive, mostly occupied 
by their owners. The farm-houses are neat and tastehil. 

Another point of interest in Washington is the quaint old 
town of New Preston, situated in the northern part of the 
township and near the shores of the beautiful lake Waramaug. 

New Preston has several quaint old houses and there are 
many historic associations connected with the place. In this 



140 



WASHINGTON. 



town is situated the Upson Seminary, a school for boys, which 
has ah'cady obtained a wide reputation. 

New Preston's natural beauties are unexceled by few 
towns. From the Pinnacle, which is a rugged height of land 
rising from the waters of Lake Waramaug may be obtained a 
view which will reward him who makes the steep climb. To 
the west and north are a " wild tumult of hills " and misty 
valleys, to the south lies the picturesque Shepaug valley while 
at our feet shimmers the blue waters of the lake. 




IN SKMINAkV. 

Wood, hill and dale vie with each other in all directions 
to make up a beautiful and varied landscape 

The following we quote from the " Life and letters of Dr. 
Bushnell, who was born in New Preston." The outlet of Lake 
Waramaug is from the southern end and pours its foaming 
stream through a narrow valley from which hills on either side 
rise steeply. The mills and shops that line this stream and 
use its water power, and rugged farms that climb the hillsides 
compose the village of New Preston, that still nestled in the 
safe seclusion of woods and mountains, keeps much of its old 
character of isolation from the world. 



Philadelphia, Reading 

and New England R. R. 

POUGHKEEPSIE BRIDGE ROUTE. 

RUNS THROUGH COACHES DAILY, 

(Except Sundays), 

Grand Central Depot, 

(New York), 

BETWEEN THE ^ and Wlnsted, Norfolk, 
Canaan, Salisbury, 
and Lakeville, 

Via THE NEW YORK CENTRAL R. R. 

"HARLEM DIVISION ROUTE." 

Making Quicker Time than by any other Route 
and Without Change of Cars. 



During the season of open navigation a Special Express Train 
is run to and from Hartford and Poughkeepsie in connection with the 

DAY LINE OF STEAMERS, 

on the Hudson River. Making a most enjoyable trip to and from 
New York, via that route. 

For Tmie Tables and particulars, apply to the undersigned. 

W. J. MARTIN, 

General Pass. Agent. Hartford. Conn. 






Located in the ,,, ,^,. ^ r-> 

LAUNDRY Bi'iLDiNG ... West Winsted, Conn, 



Commercial Printing, 

Book and Job Work a Specialty. 



. . PRICES TO SUIT ALL . . 

E. H. DeMARS, Manager. 

WM. L. GILBERT 
CLOCK COMPANY... 

. .. WINSTED, CONN. 



Manufacturers and 
Importers. 



SALESROOMS — :{7 ami 89 Maiden Lane, N. Y., 54 and oG Madison 

Street, Chicago, 111. 
BHAXCH OFFICES — Sau Francisco, Montreal, Boston, Rio de Janeiro 

Brazil. 



E. W. SPURR, Prest. Wm. KANE, Secy. H . C. GAYLORD, Treas. 



Eo Wo Spanirir 



'oo 



COAL - LUMBER - HARDWARE 
FLOUR - FEED. 

FALLS VILLAGE and LAKEVILLE, CONN. 



J 928 



